Failed stone being tested

Friday

Feb 22, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Ken Cleveland ITEM CORRESPONDENT

The fencing remains in place around areas of the new Tahanto Regional Middle/High School building, but just as a precaution.

After a piece of the bluestone facing chipped off in December’s ice storm, “we rapidly installed fencing and scaffolding around the stone areas in front and in the back of the building as a safety precaution while we investigate the problem,” Building Committee Chairman Dean Polnerow said.

“Those safeguards will remain in place until the problem is understood,” he said. “There are no safety concerns for the public with these precautions in place.”

The piece that failed is being tested to determine where the problem lies, such as a flaw in the stone.

“No other stone has failed,” Polnerow said. “Each stone has been inspected visually, and a handful of stones that were identified as possibly suspect for a similar issue were removed and replaced.

“We have enlisted a third-party consultant and testing organization to evaluate the stone. We are testing to make sure the actual stone used matches the architect’s specifications,” he said. “The testing is expected to take four to six weeks. When we have the test results, we will formulate a remedy.”

Polnerow said that no problems were discovered so far.

“The stone used is very common bluestone,” Polnerow said. “No adhesives are used, and the anchoring system and structure of the building are not in question at this time. The architects know of no other problems with this stone or anchoring system.”